Communication Associate: Public Relations | Lori Melton | lmelton@d.umn.edu | (218) 726-8830
May 20, 2013 Fay Maas | Interim Associate Dean | College of Education and Human Service Professions | 218-726-8338 | fmaas@d.umn.edu
Lori Melton | Communication Associate | External Affairs | 218 726-8830 | lmelton@d.umn.edu
UMD Professor and Colleagues Honored by EMpower Foundation
Professor Aydin Durgunoglu, from the University of Minnesota Duluth
(UMD) Department of Psychology, and her colleagues were honored by the EMpower
Foundation at a ceremony in New York City. Durgunoglu is the academic advisor for
literacy programs for AÇEV (Mother Child Education Foundation) of Istanbul, Turkey.
Empower Foundation honored AÇEV for their literacy and empowerment programs for
young people, especially young women.
Limited literacy is a challenge for many people in the US and around the world. AÇEV
provides support and advocacy to develop human potential through education. AÇEV
started with programs for mothers of young children, as mothers play an extremely
important role in their child's development.
Need for a literacy program arose when it was discovered that some of the mothers
did not have the basic literacy skills to use the materials and to fully benefit from these
programs. Today the AÇEV's face-to-face and online literacy courses are continuing to
grow and reach adults, both men and women.
EMpower Foundation supports local organizations in emerging market (EM) countries
that provide at-risk youth with the tools and resources they need to lead healthy,
productive lives.